Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Monday that officers implicated in war crimes were evacuated to the country, Israel’s media reported.
Citing a security source, Channel 13 said at least four of those evacuated to Israel were officers who engaged in war crimes, with at least one of those involved in a massacre that took place in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
The country is facing a dire humanitarian situation amid a conflict between Ethiopia’s government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), and many countries are calling on their citizens to leave the area.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning last week for Ethiopia, urging Israelis to avoid unnecessary travel to the destination. Citizens already there were also asked to shorten their stay and avoid areas of conflict, while staying informed of the situation.
Ministry spokesman Lior Hayat, however, clarified that Israeli diplomats were continuing their work in the embassy in Addis Ababa, "but aside from the uncertainty and a possible deterioration of the situation, some families return to Israel."
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Ethiopian government soldiers ride in the back of a truck on a road near Agula, north of Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia
(Photo: AP)
Although the Ethiopian government denied any threat to Addis Ababa, authorities in the capital asked residents to organize to defend the city.
The TPLF and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) - the rebel factions fighting Ethiopia’s government - last week claimed responsibility for the capture of several strategic towns in the Amhara region.